Inferno
by Yersinia Plague
Summary: [AU One shot] Reno x Axel  'It's funny how no matter what, you end up hurting those you love.'


**Inferno**

**Title: **Inferno  
**Author: **Blind Destruction  
**Pairing:** AkuReno, AkuRoku  
**Rating:** Mature  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of these characters. They all belong to Square Enix, and are from Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts respectively.**  
Author's Note:** Eh, I don't really like the way this turned out. The writing style becomes really erratic, and bi-polar. OH, and there are lots of random italicized words. Enjoy?   
**Dedicated to: **Enna for being my muse

* * *

The first time they had met had been down in a café on corner of The Alley and Fourth. The smell of cocoa beans wafted through the air, the hustle and bustle of the café was toned down by the faint yet audible jazz music playing freely from the intercom. All manner of things flew from the front counter to the tables, purchased and devoured by all manners of people; the majority of which were professionals. Doctors and lawyers who stepped in for a quick morning pick-up before heading off to save lives and fight for justice. Teachers occupied several corners, hands moving frantically as the stack of assignments before them seemed to grow ever-taller even with the passage of the school year; they were procrastinations biggest victims. There were even a few students, talking animatedly with each other, calling over waiters and waitresses to fill their cups again and again as they waved their hands, speaking about almost everything in their fields of interest in varying tones. And the last type of customer consisted of the assorted individual, who wandered in looking for a quick and powerful caffeine-fix to hold them for the rest of the day. _He_ fit into the latter group, having stepped into the establishment looking for something quick and cheap to possibly rid him of his hangover and amuse him for a few moments of the day.

He had been more than mildly amused when he had looked around, and noticed someone oddly familiar sitting alone in a booth closer towards the entrance door. Curiosity overcame him, and he slid into the opposing seat, smiling genuinely as they both inwardly gaped at each other. They were alike in more ways than they were different. It took only a bit of conversation before he was invited back to the other's apartment. And that was the day that Reno met Axel.

Days later and they still kept running into one another. Whether at a party, or in a bar, or even at the store, and it had been strange to see each other _now_ so often when they had been almost _positive_ that they had never seen each other before in their lives.

But what did it matter? A few parties later and an uncountable amount of booze later ensured that they had become, essentially, best friends. Mutual friends commented on the pair humorously, and they laughed with them at the fortunate turn of events. They were clones, twins, mirror-images of each other and they _liked_ it.

The first time they had sex it was unintentional. Really. Axel would deny it; saying it didn't count. Reno had just laughed and said that it really didn't matter, especially because neither of them could remember it in the first place. It soon became almost repetitive; almost expected. A night, and a few hits and they were on top of each other like bunny rabbits; bunny rabbits left horny and unsatisfied for way too long. In the morning, the only reminder of what they had done, what they couldn't remember, were some very obvious dried white spots on the sheets and Reno's persistent complaining about the pain in his backside.

It had been brought up that perhaps they should slow down, take it easy and maybe not hang out so much, especially not so late with what was going on. But, who were they to enforce that? They continued onwards and even though they couldn't remember, they still _felt_. Added onto the fact that they normally had no inhibitions it didn't really matter.

The first time they kissed had been in October. The heat of summer had long since faded and the bitter sting of the oncoming winter was steadily approaching, forcing them into thicker sweaters and warmer clothing. They had been walking through the park; taking a short cut through it to get to the city where a large, Friday night party awaited them.

Reno had been babbling on ceaselessly about something unimportant and generally useless. Till this day neither of them could recall exactly what, nor how Reno had suddenly ended up face down in a pile of dead Autumn leaves. A loud curse greeted the fall and the children who had been playing in the park looked up at them terrified. Which only led a quite recently pissed off Reno to laugh loudly and take Axel's offered hand. He laughed even harder when a second curse cut through the cold air and Axel fell next to him.

"You bastard." Axel had said with a muffle, spitting out an orange-brown leaf that had ended up in his mouth.

"I know." Reno replied and that _feeling_ overcame them and Axel pulled Reno closer and their lips locked for the first _real_ time. Although it seemed to hold no real meaning to them, they both cherished the memory, the _moment_. That night, they had gone to the party and the next morning when they woke up together on Axel's old mattress, they _remembered_.

That had been the real start of their relationship and although neither wanted to admit it, they both believed it to be something real in their chemically induced fantasy. But, they shared even that, so it had to mean something, didn't it?

This morning when Axel woke up he was on a different mattress, dirty, but soft and warm. The apartment was still and quiet, even though the small, plastic black alarm clock resting haphazardly on the faded wooden bedside table glowed in the mid-afternoon light, reading a clear, "2:31 PM". Poisonous green eyes rolled and he turned sideways away from the direction of the time and over to where the warmth was radiating from.

He slipped his arms around his lover's waist and pulled him closer, regardless of the fact that Reno was still sleeping. Axel planted a soft kiss on the others partly opened lips. He was greeted by a sharp, sudden intake of breath before another pair of arms snaked their way up to and around Axel's neck and he was pulled even closer, nuzzled against as Reno kept his eyes firmly shut, moaning sleepily. Axel smirked and moved back, resting his head on the worn white pillow, crossing his arms behind his head while gazing up at the ceiling.

His reverie was interrupted by loud yawning and then that body again and that heat, which meant Reno, which always meant Reno. He nuzzled his head in the crook of Axel's neck and glanced up at him, bright blue eyes narrowed slightly in sleepy slits.

"Why are you up so early? I'm still tired."

"It's almost three, Reno. We have to get going sometime."

"But, I'm _tired_." Reno complained, exasperated, yawning again while pulling his face away from Axel. Axel looked at him, lifting a pale hand to run it through the others identical flaming red hair fondly. He twirled a particularly spiky piece in between his fingers, entranced by the vibrant color before frowning. He was unreasonably tempted to stay in bed with Reno all day. To twirl that hair and play with that body and feel that familiar warmth with him always. Reno was temptation, more so than anything else really. And, since when did Axel have self-control?

He knelt down, preparing himself for another kiss before he stopped himself, untangling his limbs from Reno's and stood up, almost falling, off the bed.

"We've really got to go, Reno." He stated, firmly but with a little resentment. He followed up his statement, by yanking his lover's hair playfully and stood up off the bed. Axel made his way out of the room, stopping only once to stoop down and pick up his clothing before leaving the room entirely.

Two hours later, which should have only been one hour, but Reno had been insistent on sleeping in and the pair was walking down the city, in an all too familiar trend. They were often out here, with or without a purpose, just walking together, stopping occasionally to look at things here and there before moving onwards.

Axel had been entertained; looking off across the street at a small group of street performers. Dressed up in matching outfits made of black leather. They had smiles that radiated from them openly and a large blue garbage bucket in front of them awaiting 'donations'. Axel watched intently as one of the more petite performers grabbed onto the arms of one of the stronger men and was thrown up into the air, only to flip and be caught once again by the same man, settled atop his shoulders, arms spread wide in a performer's stance.

"Axel." He heard from behind him and he ignored it, fascinated.

"Axel!" Reno growled impatiently, again, pulling on his arm, dragging him into a small door off the side of the street. Axel allowed himself to be dragged, not caring much where Reno was taking them, still intrigued by the performers.

He almost walked headfirst into a door and grumbled irately suddenly paying more attention to where he had allowed his doppelganger to drag him off. When he finally did realize where he was he couldn't say that he was surprised.

Loud alternative music pumped itself in the air, loud enough to hear but not too loud so that people wouldn't be able to hear each other speaking. The store itself was old and worn-out to the eye. White paint stayed stained and peeling, assorted concert flyers stuck onto the wall, falling off on their corners slightly, but still firmly attached in the center.

It was a hang out spot for…anyone really. Almost like a party place, booze constantly stocked on the shelves and atop the tables, going hand in hand with the other illicit activities that went unchecked in the obscure building.

Several people were currently occupying the diminutive space, a few much louder than others, but in the end it was an open party for anybody who felt like coming along. That included the slightly graying, obviously older man, with a nicely apparent eye patch over his left eye and a jagged scar along his jaw, who was drifting around casually with a gun in one hand, a bottle of booze in the other. And, also had people like the quiet, silver-haired kid who sat contently in a corner, one hand propped up on the table, gray-blue eyes flickering from the opened book resting on the table, to the party goers. His eyes glared at the doorway for a moment, prepared to flip back to the page he was on before the door opened once more.

That was where Reno and Axel sauntered in. Reno being immediately swept up in the social atmosphere and went directly towards the people, moving over to a familiar blonde who had decided to remain standing near the wall, arms crossed. Reno greeted him with an "Oi, Cloud!" which was returned with a curious eyebrow raise and Reno was set for the night.

Axel, on the other hand, at least remembered the _main_ reason as to why they had slipped out of their 'humble abode' and out onto the streets today. Although, they frequented it often, today he could remember an actual benefit as to what they could gain from being there, other than the regular party going intoxication. That reason came in the form of a rather relaxed seeming man, legs crossed on a table top, body resting languidly on a chair.

"Hey, Marluxia." Axel greeted as he stepped up to the table with a nod, before taking the free chair opposite the man and spinning it around, sitting down on it so that his legs passed by the supporting back of the chair before touching the floor.

"Red, my best customer! How are you doing?" A sly smirk made its way onto Marluxia's face, blue eyes cold and calculating as he gave Axel a once over.

"I'm good, Marl. Listen, me and Reno were wondering if we could buy a couple of grams."

"Mmm, the usual?" A slender, almost feminine eyebrow arched up as he gazed at him speculatively, before nodding; business was business.

"I think I've got some around here." He continued and disappeared for a moment beneath the table coming up with a small, slender black bag. Marluxia shuffled through it, looking inside intently for a moment before smiling again and placing a small clear vial onto the table; the white powder within it seeming to glow in the dark lights.

Axel nodded and grinned a bit wider despite himself and placed the money on the table, two twenties and a ten, crumpled up into little paper balls but still valid.

"Thanks, Marl. You're a lifesaver." A pale, thin arm reached across the table and picked up the vial greedily, shoved it into his worn pants pocket and nodded once more as he stepped up and away from the table.

Afternoon faded into evening and before they knew it evening had faded into full blown night. The sky outside was dark and the once controlled environment became hectic as more people found their way inside.

Reno had managed to make his way to most, if not all of the people in the party, waving around a bottle of alcohol that had managed to appear out of thin air with the abundance of new people. His smile was jovial, almost innocent, Axel, regrettably, couldn't have helped but to notice. Back resting against a wall, having withdrawn from the over-socialism, deciding instead to nurse his own bottle of beer off in some corner. Clear, green eyes had glanced over everyone else in the building, but he found that the only occupant of the godforsaken place he was interested in, was the redhead who was attempting to converse with a man whom he knew to be one of Reno's closest friends. Reno was only given a nod of the head, or even a slight eyebrow raise as acknowledgement of his drunken rambling, but that in itself wasn't unusual. Everyone had their own way to deal with him, drunk or sober.

But, as Axel watched his boyfriend meander about he realized that it was getting late and he wanted to 'deal' with Reno himself. And so he slipped back onto the floor, trying to avoid the intoxicated bodies in an effort to get closer to his look-alike.

Reno was a bit surprised by the sudden hand at his waist and bite at his neck, but he was good at hiding it. Laughing he arched his neck a bit to the side to give whoever it was better access. Besides, the other's scent was too familiar to keep his identity unknown for long, Reno could've picked up on the smell, a mixture of thick, dark chocolate mixed with that faint smoky smell, from a mile away. And so he gave into the nibbling, carrying on the conversation with Rude, deliberately ignoring Axel. This led to a slightly irritated redhead, who instead of giving up, reached up and licked the shell of Reno's ear.

"Let's go home, Reno. I'm bored and you're going to entertain me." The whispered command was given its strength by the forceful yanking of Reno's long, red ponytail which resulted in a pained yelp.

"Fine, fine, fine." He laughed, someone had to win in the game. He might as well give Axel a moment of glory. Reno raised the bottle up, as a 'sayonara' to Rude, and turned to follow Axel out of the door, who still managed to have a hold on his hair.

The ride back to their apartment was uneventful. Axel drove, not entirely sober, but still much more sober than his other and they arrived at their crappy, low-rent apartment building just as the clock hit "1:32 AM".

The black, rusted Camarro was parked in the small underground garage and the two hobbled out. It wasn't a long walk to their apartment from there, but they both _really_ wanted to avoid their landlord. Not only was he gigantic, he was loud too. Being more than just a few weeks behind on the rent meant that they would much rather avoid him at all costs. They'd sneak through the hallways and just laugh about his ridiculous sideburns when they closed the door.

That was, by routine, exactly what they were doing now. Sneaking slowly past the faded, cracking doors and stepping carefully onto the obscenely dirty red carpets, inching closer, closer, closer to their apartment.

Reno reached the door first, twisting the knob and laughing loudly, staggering into the apartment. Completely and utterly giving Axel up and not bothering to care. After all, Axel had won last time, hadn't he? It was all part of the game.

"Shit!" Axel shouted and another door creaked open behind him and all too recognizable voice boomed down the hallway at him.

"Axel."

Axel stopped and turned around slowly, smiling his best "I'm-completely-innocent" smile and nodded.

"Heyyy, Xaldin."

"Axel," He sighed, pressing his fingers to his nose and pinching the place between his eyes tightly, before continuing onwards. "You and Reno are behind on the rent. Again."

Axel winced, raising a hand and rubbing it behind his neck, shrugging with his other shoulder.

"Listen, Xald. We know we owe you, okay? Don't worry, I'm getting my paycheck soon. We'll get it all to you. So, just, don't worry."

Xaldin looked almost sorry for a moment, frowning disapprovingly before shaking his head, resulting in the loosening of a few dreadlocks from the makeshift ponytail he had going, before giving in.

"Fine. I'm giving you until next Friday. If I don't see it then," He trailed off, looking back up at Axel, sighing lightly. "Then I'm kicking you and Reno out."

Axel nodded, turning on his heel and walking quickly into his apartment, the door of which Reno had conveniently left wide open, and slammed the door shut behind him. The wailing of a baby greeted the motion, but he ignored it and continued onwards.

The apartment was just as he had left it. More of their possessions on the floor, than in their respective places. Garbage joining them, along with clothing, assorted videos and discs and the mould that had accumulated there from days, weeks, _months_, of neglect. But, the one thing that stood out most from the pile of rubbish, was a brand new, almost ethereal _guitar_.

Axel stepped towards it, green eyes opening wider slightly, his drunken swagger forgotten as he made his way further inside, almost tripping in his slow, still surprised struggle to get to the other end of the room. And when he did make it, he could do nothing but look on with awe, hands reaching forward to skim across it, fearing that if he did touch it, it would disappear.

But, the guitar was beautiful. Black paint on the body so new it almost _shimmered_ in the pale light. Red paint matched it, decorated perfectly in a semblance of _fire_ and it was _perfect_. Temptation overwhelmed him and as a result he picked it up, delicately, taking it off the dirty floor and marveling at it. At the way it fit perfectly into his hands, in the way it felt new and perfect and _real_.

"Ah, so you found it."

The voice cut through his thoughts and Axel turned to look at Reno, leaning in their bedroom doorway casually, not smiling, blue gaze filled with a strange curiosity.

"Reno…you bought this?"

His lover shrugged a shoulder, leaning on the doorframe with an apathetic expression, his eyes giving away what he really wanted to ask, but his mouth finally formed the words to do so.

"Do you like it?"

Axel managed to cover the distance between him and Reno in an impossibly short moment and a few strides. Then he had his lover by the waist, lips pressed up against his, tightly, as though he was trying to convey how much it really meant.

Reno moaned appreciatively into the kiss, hands working their way downwards towards Axel's pocket, hands slipping into the thin space between the fabric, before coming out with the small vial. He pressed away from Axel, albeit a bit reluctantly, before holding up the vial in front of both their faces, grinning.

"Make it up to me with this."

Reno had settled himself onto the sofa, band tied around his arm, needle slipping the heroin into his bloodstream. Axel was mulling over the tools on the table, not seeing them clearly, as he waited for another turn with the needle. His placed his red zippo on the table, next to the small vial and looked back over at Reno, who by now had finished with the needle and was sort of just looking at it, head tilted to the side a bit.

"Reno." Axel began, laughing before he managed to finish what he was going to say, having forgotten by the time the others name had slipped past his lips anyway.

That wasn't important to Reno, who tilted Axel's head back, leaning downwards so that they could press their lips against each other. A slow and languid kiss. But, Reno wasn't slow and Axel had a slight 'debt' to repay to him. Axel hadn't been able to comprehend what had happened, but the next thing he knew was that he was on top of Reno and they were kissing frantically, hands moving quickly along each other's bodies. Axel's hands were unbuttoning Reno's shirt, Reno's hands ducking into Axel's pants, teasing him, albeit a bit more directly.

"Mmm, Reno." Axel managed to mumble, smirking into the kiss. Everything was perfect. Until the lights that had been thrown on flickered off behind them and didn't come back on. All the electricity in their apartment seemed to shut off and Axel pulled back roughly from Reno, looking around a bit surprised.

"Reno, what happened?" Green eyes seemed almost luminescent in the dark and he was a bit concerned. They kind of NEEDED their electricity and if something were wrong with it…

"Who cares, babe? Just get on with it."

Axel frowned, an expression not visible in the dark and pulled Reno's hands forcibly out of his pants. The silence in the room was heavy, but it allowed him to hear the sounds from the other apartments. He could hear, distinctly, the chanting of the Teletubbies and even the whirring of a vacuum cleaner from their slightly obsessive compulsive neighbor.

"Reno… did you pay the electrical bill?" The tone in his voice was inquisitive. It wasn't that he minded the dark, but he would have liked to know why it was such.

His answer came in the form of a forlorn sigh from under him, Reno's hands holding completely still, twitching occasionally from the heroin in his system.

"…Nope. But, you can fuck me in the dark, so what's the problem?"

Axel withdrew from his partner completely, leaning off of him and resting on the other arm of the couch, frowning speculatively.

"Why, Reno? They fucking threatened to cut us off completely before. And, you just didn't pay?"

"I didn't have enough money." Was Reno's curt response as he got up and drew himself into a similar position as his look-alike on the other side of the couch.getting up and drawing himself into a similar position on the other side of the couch.

"Why didn't you have enough money?" Axel got up, making his way through the apartment with the strong city lights shining through the open window. He picked up the guitar from, holding it tightly, but without the affection from before.

"Is it because of this?" He demanded, lifting it up by its neck in one hand, raising it dangerously above the floor.

"Yes." Reno exclaimed, giving in and standing up, tripping over the table and landing on the floor with a loud "FUCK", before getting to his feet again, hobbling slightly and continuing.

"Yeah, that's why. I'll pay it with my next paycheck. It's no big deal."

"It fucking IS a big deal, Reno. We don't have any money. What the fuck were you thinking?"

"You wanted one, so I bought it for you. Appreciate it and stop bitching!"

"I'm not fucking BITCHING, you asshole. We need money! Why the fuck would you waste it?"

"BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU, GODDAMMIT." Reno exploded, face red with fury, as he shouted back at Axel, adrenaline flowing through his veins, mixing with his high to create an unreasonable circumstance.

"WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T." Axel shouted back and threw the guitar backwards. It hit the wall and cracked, falling to the ground limply. The paint jagged and chipped, the neck snapped in half, the strings broken and hanging off.

"FUCK YOU, TOO." Reno screamed, turning from his boyfriend and heading for the door. It opened, shooting light in from the hallway, before it slammed shut with a resounding thud through the now hollow apartment, echoing off the walls in a broken melody.

Axel watched as he left, not bothering to chase after him. It was his fault anyway. If he'd been a bit more reliable and hadn't wasted all his money on frivolous things… Axel glanced back down at the broken guitar, its thin silhouette stretching out faintly on the littered apartment flooring.

"Shit." Axel mumbled, turning to the door of the apartment and leaving, entering into the hallway and making his way outside.

Reno had entered into the garage, slamming doors and shouting at people along his way irrationally, not bothering to think straight or 'behave himself'. Fucking Axel. He was such a dick half the time. Over a fucking _present_. It was bullshit.

He spotted his car and walked over to it, taking the key out of his pocket and aiming to put it into the keyhole. His hands trembled far too much for him to put the key in properly and as a result he was just becoming increasingly more frustrated. Reno took a deep breath, held the key steady and jammed it into the hole, twisting it fiercely.

And then he had the door open, the keys in the ignition, with a bit of a struggle but not nearly so much as the last time and the car in reverse. Reverse and then he changed gears and pressed his foot on the gas pedal, hammering it forward, not bothering to wait for the garage door to open fully, not acknowledging the fact that he was too high to be riding a bike, let alone driving a car.

The black car sped out of the garage, jumping forward onto the junction between the cement and the actual road. The dark sky was black, but rolling flashes of thunder announced the presence of a storm, rain sleeting down on the ground in sheets. There was the thunder again, followed by the crashing of lightning before the rain increased in intensity and battered away at his windshield. He glanced upwards and his vision was caught with a sudden, familiar flash of red. And then it was out of sight, but not out of mind and he panicked.

The door flew open and Reno stepped out, running to the front of his car and stopping. Stopping, because he was right in his initial assumption. He knew what he had hit and he knew then that everything was over.

All because, it was _him_ who lay there. The boy of his dreams. In a puddle of red, red, red that darkened even his beautiful hair, tainted his beautiful porcelain skin. Surrealism in its finest, most ironic form. He jumped forward, wanting to embrace him, ask him if he was okay and tell him that he loved him and that he didn't mean it. Didn't mean any of it. But he couldn't bring himself to. Couldn't bring him to even look at him, because here was the boy with the same face, the same soul, the boy he would have given his _heart_ to, were he one to admit it. And, here was the same boy that he had just fought with, just run over, here was the same boy whose fucking amazing eyes weren't _opening_.

"Axel?" Reno called timidly, vision distorted by heroin/adrenaline/alcohol/shock.

"Fuck it, Axel!" He stepped forward, running shoes stepping into the blood and soaking through slowly, slowly, but fast enough, intense enough, that he felt it instantly.

"Axel!" He shouted, throwing himself onto the body of his lover, grasping his shoulders as he called his name again and again and again. "Axel, Axel, Axel!"

_"Axel, WAKE UP YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"_

The ambulance came minutes later and Reno was soaked through with some combination of rain and his lover's crimson blood. He'd tried and tried to wake him up. He really had, but those eyes refused to open, no matter what he did. His only comfort had been Axel's heartbeat against his. Comforting, and even though it was faint, it was still there. He was still alive. He had to be. Reno _loved_ him. And, he couldn't honestly say he'd ever been in love with anyone before that and couldn't bring himself to say he would honestly love anyone after.

Axel was strapped to a gurney and taken inside the ambulance. Reno followed, staying inside, holding Axel's cold hand in his and keeping a firm grip on it.

"I'm." He choked, running his free hand through his hair before continuing, "I'm sorry, Axel."

An hour later and he was out of the emergency room. The blood had all been cleared away and he had been transferred to a different room. A different room in the coma ward.

That hesitation had returned, hesitation and slight fear. He was afraid to touch Axel. Afraid to do something that would cause even further chaos. But, damn it, this was Axel. If it had been anyone else, it might have been okay. Might have been a bit better, but it wasn't. It was Axel and it was his entire fault.

And so, he didn't touch him, didn't talk to him, simply sat in the corner of the glaringly white room and watched him. Watched him for the slightest signal of movement, of life. But there was none and he was left with the infinite truth that this was all his fault.

The high hadn't faded away, but he had thrown a small fit as a result and was taken away to attempt to 'sober up'. There was nothing else he could do. Settled into a chair, foot tapping erratically in no consistent rhythm whatsoever, with dazed over blue eyes concentrated intensely on the comatose male.

"Axel. Fuck it, Axel."

Hands pressed to his face, words mumbled regrettably into the spaces between his fingers, more out of fear than anything. He was afraid to see what he had done. Damn it. It was all his fucking fault. Why couldn't he have just paid the bill and been a _good_ boyfriend? Why did he have to run over Axel. Fuck! Why did he get in the way?

"Mr. Hayes?"

The voice interrupted him. Stopped his self-pity in its tracks and forced him to look up at his mistake, before glancing over to the door, the source of the sound.  
A dark haired man had entered into the room, looking down at him with exhausted deep brown eyes. He began again, placing the clipboard in his hands lower, now that he had Reno's attention.

"Mr. Hayes, do you know if the patient has any relatives we could contact?"

"His name is Axel." Reno all but growled, getting up off the chair, keeping his blurred stare focused intently on the doctor. "And, he doesn't. He only has me."

"I see, and who are you to him?"

"His boyfriend."

The doctor nodded, looking past Reno towards Axel, whose eyes hadn't opened since.

"Call me Tseng, Mr. Hayes. Let's get through the formalities as quickly as possible. _Axel_, has sustained minor bruises, a few broken ribs, but more importantly, serious head trauma. We've used all our resuscitation techniques, but, I regret to inform you, that none of them were successful. We don't know how long he could be in comatose for."

Reno looked at the doctor, with eyes wide. Disbelief setting itself firmly, and brutally in his bones, forcing him to place trembling hand into his pockets.

"We have been unable to locate any of his family members, which means that the decision falls on you. Do you want us to keep him on life support in the event that he may wake up, or would you prefer it if we took him off of life support and you could –"

The doctor didn't have time to finish what he was saying, a voice behind them both stopping him in mid sentence.

"Reno Hayes, you are under arrested for aggravated assault and driving while under the influence."

Reno staggered backwards a bit as the two police officers seemed to explode out of nowhere into the hospital room. Blue eyes looked at them, examining them as obviously as they were glaring at him.

There were two of them. One who was large and bulky. He looked as though he could break bones simply by _touching_ them and was more than just little intimidating standing at a height closer to 6'8.

The other officer was the one who had spoken, golden eyes narrowing as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. His blue hair fell past his shoulders and blended oddly with the police uniform which was only a slighter shade of blue. He stepped closer to Reno, holding out his handcuffs, as if to instruct him that resistance wasn't an option and that in the end, he would be taken into custody.

Reno shook his head instead and backed himself off into a corner. There was no way he was going. No way was he going to leave Axel. He couldn't. It seemed an impossible action, an act of blasphemy, contradictory to what he claimed to be living for. This was not the way it was supposed to be.

The cop stepped closer, the larger one moving to guard the door, while the bluenette stepped forward, the scowl on his face intensified by the jagged "X" shaped scar on his forehead. The kid was more than just a little bit dodgy. Years of law enforcement had honed his mind to the signals that chased the obvious. It didn't matter what the redhead was on, he would be taken in eventually, with or without force. Had he been thinking rationally, the officer mused, he would have probably let them take him to jail. Resisting arrest would only make the whole situation messier. Narrowed eyes flickered over at the second redhead, lying still on the hospital. It would probably make the situation a whole lot messier.

But, Reno couldn't leave Axel. If he really was sane, he wouldn't have hit him in the first place. They would be at home, fucking each other into the floor, and loving it and each other more than anything, or anyone else.

That wasn't happening. Wasn't happening because he had put Axel into a fucking coma. And, who knew when people came out of comas? What if he had…_killed_ Axel?

He didn't even realize what had happened next. His arms were behind his back, cold, heartless metal of the handcuffs digging into his skin, the blue haired cop next to him, the bigger cop behind him, holding his hands. And, his face was in Axel's chest, cheeks wet. He'd cried? And, he didn't notice it as another sob left him, and he was dragged away from the bed, dragged out of the room. But, he'd forgotten something. Something important. More important than _his_ life.

"Keep him alive!" He shrieked at the doctor, "Tseng! Keep him ALIVE! Don't kill him! Don't kill him!"

He hollered it down the hallway, and kept screaming it as he was pulled, literally, off the floor and into the elevator, and out of the hospital and into the police cruiser.

That was that.

His trial was the following week.

The sun was bright, and the clouds were scarce as Reno was sentenced to a rather minimum term of thirty-eight months imprisonment for driving under the influence, and aggravated assault. There had been suspicion of domestic abuse, but the charges were cleared under careful observation and a cheap, but decent lawyer.

He behaved himself, most of the time, trying to get by with a good enough record to possibly be released early. That didn't work, most of the time. He was still himself, after all. A bit confrontational by nature, and the fact that he was cooped up in _here_ when Axel was out _there_, bothered him more than anything.

That and the detoxification that jail automatically subjected him too. The first year had been rough, the heroin draining out of his system so entirely that he felt like just fucking dying and giving into the pain. But, he couldn't. He had to get out, so he could go see Axel. Beg him to wake up, and be by his side forever and always.

It was twenty-three months, sixteen days, and nine hours to the day when green eyes opened. Smiling down on them were smooth, beautiful, oceanic blue. It was with stiff limbs that he reached upwards. Slowly, slowly, and grasped at a handsome, pale neck, and pulled it closer so that he could be with his lover again at long last.

He held onto those full, pink lips for a moment, before he was pressed back down, and his vision cleared a little bit. He was surprised to say the least, to see not that same long, crimson hair that he had been in love with, but instead, short, swirly blond.

Where was Reno?

His vision faded back to black, but they knew that he was okay, that he was alive. What they didn't know was that his heart was broken beyond repair.

A few weeks later, and Axel was back in action. He had taken some more time in the hospital to recover, but he had really only stayed there because he had no where else to be. He had learned that he was in a coma, for the better part of two years. He had also learned that the coma was induced by a car accident he had sustained those two, long years ago. The only problem was, he couldn't remember anything from that night. And it didn't explain where Reno was, or why he had left him. It took a little while for Axel to realize that Reno had given up on them, on him, and had left him.

So, Axel stayed, and fought down thoughts of Reno who had always said he'd loved him, but had proved that Axel was nothing more to him than a quick lay and a place to stay. It fucking _hurt_. Eventually, he got over it, and in time started checking out that cute blond he had kissed that first day. Roxas was his name, and he wasn't like anyone Axel had ever met before. He fussed when Axel proclaimed loudly that he was fine, and proceeded to do stupid things like call for alcohol, or refuse to eat for days at a time because 'the hospital food was shit and he wanted to eat a real hamburger'. He yelled, shouted, and bitched him into submission, but in the end Axel didn't mind. Roxas was cute all worked up, and one day he decided to tell him so.

Of course, it had been much longer than the one day that this infatuation exists, but it was the first day of Axel's release that finally pulled them closer together.

It had been raining, outside, and Axel had decided to go home. Back to the apartment him and Reno shared, with the firm resolution that if Reno was there, he would leave him. It wasn't like he cared anymore anyway. The plan was just for him to go in, get his stuff, and get out.

The plan changed when they arrived at his apartment, Axel stepping into the old, cold building, with Roxas following hesitantly behind, lagging a little bit.

The apartment looked like it had been deserted for awhile. Probably finally seen as a menace to society, Axel mused. The doors to the apartments were all open, carpets bare, stuff gone. He didn't have to creep around and hide from Xaldin anymore at least. The rain battered at the hollow building, leaking in through holes in the ceiling that he was sure hadn't been there before, and streaming through the windowsills now without windows.

Axel strode right through everything, regarding everything with an apathetic attitude. There was one place he cared about, and it was within that all too familiar doorway.

Roxas had come up a bit closer to him, not used to the uncomfortable environment, but more against the idea of leaving Axel alone in the miserable place.

Axel didn't mind. Or he didn't seem to anyway. He waltzed into the room as if without a care in the world. Glancing around at the worn, battered sofa that had been untouched by them in who knew how long. At their assorted possessions, that lay on the ground, scattered about by the wind. It was then that Axel paused, looking around at the mess, recognizing all the symbols of his former life, a lifetime ago, with a man who had meant more to him than anything else.

That wasn't true any longer. Reno had left him, deserted him, abandoned him for death. He had Roxas now. Roxas who was faithful and loyal. Who had a cute pout, and liked to try and boss him around. Roxas was better for him, in ways Reno could never have been. That belief made it hurt less, or so he liked to think. But, his eyes had stopped longer than he had realized, on a broken guitar off to the side of the wreckage. His vision was blurred with the thin film of a tear that he had never noticed coming, and he couldn't remember why he felt that way. But, he couldn't ignore the feeling, and found that he couldn't tear his eyes away from it. Reno wasn't coming back. Reno didn't love him. He had Roxas. He loved Roxas.

And, that was that.

"Let's go." The aforementioned stated, grabbing Axel's arm and moving back out of the apartment. He deliberately ignored the tears, and made to get him out of the building as fast as he possibly could.

"You can come live with me." He mumbled, and Axel stopped being dragged, and began to follow on his own free will.

Eight months later, and he was free. Free to wander down the street, free to talk to anyone he chose to, even free to hit it up at a bar. The most important thing was that he was free to look for Axel.It had been the first thing on his mind, the second he walked out of those heavy prison gates, a few months early for 'good behavior'.

That was all he had thought about. Checking in regularly with the hospital to see how he was doing, and he rejoiced when he heard that he was awake. But, that wasn't all he heard. He heard of a certain blue-eyed, blond-haired nurse, and he heard of long nights between the two, and it was then that he was hit by a painful realization, Axel had forgotten him.

He had convinced himself that it was okay. It was okay because so long as Axel was happy, he was happy. No matter what happened, he would be fine because Axel. Was. Happy. He deserved it, and from what he'd heard, this nurse would be good for him. Soft on the eyes, smart, morally inclined. They would be perfect with each other.

That was why Reno gave up. Let the kid be with Axel. After all, it was his obligation for ruining Axel's life in the first place. For putting him into a coma for two fucking years. For almost _killing_ him because he was too stupid to know any better.

Which was how Reno became to be where he was at now. Free, but still bound to the past. Bound to a heart that had no place for him anymore.

It was October. The heat of summer had faded away, and the bitter cold of the oncoming winter had forced him into a thicker sweater, and warmer clothing. He had been walking alone, down the city streets, at an intersection between The Alley and Fourth. The smell of cocoa beans wafted all the way outside, and Reno couldn't help but turn to enter inside the familiar café. But, he couldn't. Laughter overtook him, making him weak in the knees and forcing him to clutch at his stomach and slide to the ground. Made him laugh, and smile and look around with a look in his cool blue eyes that spilled a tale of heartbreak. Inside was an all too familiar sight of red hair, of green eyes, of pale skin and a beautiful smile. And, that smile was directed to that pretty blond youth sitting across from him.

This was Roxas, and that was Axel. He was Reno, and he no longer fit into the equation.

Later that night, the apartment that had been so cold and empty so many months ago, became hot and filled with fire. It could have been said that laughter was heard, all the way from outside, and it scared people in the area so badly, that they chose to stay away, calling the firefighters from the safety of their homes, out of reach of the burning hands of death, and away from the potential danger.

The firefighters had come, and put out the blaze that had overwhelmed most of the apartment building. Their only finding had been a red zippo, and the frail, barely solid corpse of someone holding pieces of ash, and burnt, metal guitar strings.


End file.
